Colorado State Patrol enforcement on U.S. 36 and central I-25 toll lanes

July 2015 to August 2016

273 tickets for toll/HOV violations

705 tickets for other traffic violations

Source: Plenary Group

U.S. 36 Express Lanes users

72 percent of Express Lane users have a switchable transponder or toll pass connected to a pre-paid ExpressToll account

28 percent of users are opting for license plate billing.

Source: Plenary Group

In Joni Klippert's eyes, driving on U.S. 36 since the toll lanes opened last summer is "the most glorious thing ever."

She commutes daily from Denver's Berkeley neighborhood to central Boulder for her job at a tech company and pays, on average, $55 per month in tolls.

"It's great," she said. "I use the toll (lanes) every day, and it flies... I imagine it saves me 15, 20 minutes (each way)."

Advertisement

Her only complaint? When people illegally dart in and out of the toll lanes, either because they're trying to avoid paying the toll or because they're fed up with stop-and-go traffic in the two all-purpose lanes on the highway.

Enforcement has also been on the mind of Simon Stachnik, project manager for Plenary Group, the private company partnering with the Colorado Department of Transportation on the $497 million U.S. 36 Express Lanes expansion and improvement project.

Though many people are using the toll lanes appropriately, others are trying to cheat the system or are making unsafe driving decisions.

Stachnik is working on a new contract, which will likely be finalized in 2017, that would pay for full-time enforcement of toll and other violations on U.S. 36 by Colorado State Patrol troopers.

As the contract stands now, Colorado State Patrol troopers can sign up to work over-time shifts patrolling U.S. 36, with an emphasis on toll violations, and Plenary Group will pay them.

Officers from other agencies, such as the Broomfield and Westminster police departments, patrol the highway but are not specifically focused on toll violations, nor do they have contracts with Plenary Group.

"No. 1, safety," Stachnik said about the desire for dedicated officers to patrol the toll lanes. "The people using this corridor are the lifeblood of our business. It's not sustainable if this is an unsafe environment... to the extent that we can minimize accidents by having a presence out there more frequently, we're all for that."

It's also a question of fairness, Stachnik said. People who dart out of the toll lanes just before the tolling station and people who switch their toll transponder to the carpool setting, even though they are alone in the car, are getting something for free that other motorists are paying for.

"I know that there's a fairness issue going on right now that some people see that people are skirting the toll system, and they're being an honest customer and paying for that benefit of that reliable lane, and I'm totally with them," Stachnik said. "That is not fair that people are doing that. We would like, as a secondary benefit, that those officers are able to enforce those violations more frequently."

$2.4 million in revenue

After three-and-a-half years of construction on the busy highway between Boulder and Denver, crews wrapped up major work on the project in January. The result is a highway with two, free all-purpose lanes and one toll/carpool lane in each direction; an 18-mile, paved bike path that runs between Westminster and Boulder; new bridges; overhead signs with real-time traffic information; and new bus rapid transit service.

Across all U.S. 36 lanes, speeds have increased by 29 percent during the morning rush hour and 20 percent during the evening rush hour, thanks to the new Express Lanes, according to numbers recorded by CDOT.

From July 2015, when tolling began on U.S. 36, through the end of June 2016, the Express Lanes have generated $2.4 million in revenue, according to the most recent numbers available.

Motorists have several options for driving in the U.S. 36 Express Lanes. They can elect to have their license plate photographed by cameras at the tolling stations and get a bill in the mail, or they can get a pass that's connected to a pre-paid ExpressToll account. (Drivers pay a lower rate if they get a pass.)

There are two types of passes available: a $15 switchable transponder for drivers who expect to sometimes carpool and a free static sticker pass for single drivers.

Drivers with at least one passenger in the car who switch their transponder to the carpool setting can drive in the Express Lanes for free. Starting Jan. 1, drivers will need at least two other passengers in the car to drive in the Express Lanes for free.

Toll evaders

Today, troopers can spot carpool violations by looking for an indicator light as the vehicle passes under a toll gantry, according to Colorado State Patrol Trooper Nate Reid. If the gantry indicates that the driver has selected the carpool setting, the trooper can look at the vehicle to see if there are enough people in the car, he said.

This type of violation, classified as toll evasion, can result in a $250 fine.

Plenary Group has also been looking into some new technologies that could potentially make that job easier for troopers or remove that responsibility from law enforcement entirely, according to Stachnik.

"It's probably a bit naive or optimistic of me to think that whoever went through the effort to get a switchable transponder is using it in an honest manner," Stachnik said. "I don't know for sure but I'm guessing there's probably somewhere around 10 to 15 or even 20 percent who are cheating the system."

People also cover up their license plates so that the toll cameras can't read them or hop into the all-purpose lanes for a short stretch to avoid the tolling stations, both of which are grounds for a toll evasion ticket, Stachnik said.

Between July 1, 2015 and Aug. 31, 2016, Colorado State Patrol wrote 273 toll evasion tickets on U.S. 36 and central I-25, according to numbers provided by Plenary Group.

State troopers also issued 705 other traffic tickets during that time for violations such as speeding, tailgating and crossing over the solid, double white lines that differentiate the toll lanes from the all-purpose lanes.

Dustin Moody, who commutes daily from Westminster to Boulder, said he's bothered the most by drivers who use the toll lanes to pass slower cars in the all-purpose lanes.

"I've generally found (the Express Lanes) to be a really effective way to get back and forth, however I do see a lot of drivers crossing that double line and not only missing the tolls but I've seen a couple of really close calls," said Moody, 32.

Stachnik said he hopes having one or two dedicated troopers to patrol the toll lanes full-time will help make the highway safer and more efficient for all drivers. It's also likely to result in more toll revenue.

"More (law enforcement) presence hopefully will eventually turn into maybe some more revenue, but that's not ultimately our goal," Stachnik said. "If you're using that lane, the expectation is that you're a (high-occupancy vehicle) user or you're paying for that reliable travel time. That's the goal."

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story